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Archive for the ‘TV’ Category

Top of the morning

Friday, April 20th, 2007

ESPN is continuing to look for the right recipe for its morning brew. Cold Pizza has been under constant construction since it started and now the name and location are getting thrown out.

On May 7, Cold Pizza will become ESPN First Take. Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson will still host the show, but it will be back in Bristol, Conn., with the rest of the ESPN studios. It also will have 1st and 10 segments with two commentators from a pool that includes Skip Bayless, as well as Stephen A. Smith, Patrick McEnroe and Jemele Hill. The show will continue to be shown on ESPN2.

ESPN First Take (airing live from 10 a.m.-noon and repeated from noon-2 p.m.) will be televised in high definition. The HD will come to ESPN2's simulcast of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning, which is on from 6-10 a.m.

ESPN also said that Mike and Mike and ESPN First Take will have sports updates with Sage Steele. The morning repeats of SportsCenter will have a rundown graphic like they have for the draft to tell viewers what's coming next.

The Big Show

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Great news for intelligent TV: Keith Olbermann is doing sports again. He is going to be part of NBC's NFL coverage.

Here is what the Associated Press reported: Keith Olbermann will return to sports for the first time in six years to join Cris Collinsworth as co-host of the pregame show for NBC's Sunday night NFL telecasts. Olbermann, who currently hosts a prime-time newscast and opinion show called ‘‘Countdown with Keith Olbermann’’ on MSNBC, will join with host Bob Costas and analysts Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King on NBC's ‘‘Football Night in America.’’ An anchor for ESPN's SportsCenter from 1992-97, Olbermann last appeared on network television in 2001 as host of postseason baseball coverage for FOX. His job on the NBC show will be to narrate highlights and discuss NFL news and issues.

For those that listen to Dan Patrick's show on ESPN Radio, Olbermann has been part of that show for about a year. He is the closest personality to Howard Cosell on the air today.

Off the beaten path

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

Two sports that don't receive much talk, the NHL and Major League Soccer, are finally receiving great support from their TV partners. The NHL is getting two weekend dates on NBC during the playoffs, which included coverage Saturday of the Penguins' victory in Game 2 in Ottawa. MLS gets its own night on ESPN on Thursday, and Fox Soccer Channel on Saturdays.

This is important for the leagues to continue to grow. ESPN buried the NHL at the end of their contract and it really set the league behind. Now the NHL has NBC and Versus, who seem to be interested in growing the sport, and dedicating talented broadcasters to bring it to you. Like I have written before, the intensity of the NHL playoffs can not be matched by any other sport.

With MLS, both networks are adding pre- and postgame shows, and in those shows, they are including information on soccer around the world. With the increase in immigrants in the United States, soccer has an informed fan base that is only going to grow. So it makes sense to have more information than just about the game in America. Expect with David Beckham coming to the Galaxy for more coverage of the league.